Electrical receptacles have slots that expose people, particularly children, to potentially lethal electrical shock hazards. Children being curious by nature are inclined to test and probe their environments and may stick their fingers or other small objects into the prong receiving openings of electrical receptacles. A person can be shocked if they are in simultaneous contact with a live conductor and a low impedance path to ground. To avoid this risk, there are conventional systems currently used to discourage objects being inserted into electrical receptacles and people being shocked.
Conventional approaches to discourage tampering with electrical receptacles can include, for example, manual insertion of nonconductive receptacle caps to cover the receptacle prongs. These caps, however, significantly reduce electrical receptacle convenience. In order to insert a plug the caps have to be completely removed. Inserting a plug may result in the caps being lost or misplaced and the caps being fairly small in size can serve as a choking hazard for children. Electrical receptacles caps also create a shock hazard due to their tendency to pull partially out of a receptacle, leaving exposed prongs that remain connected to electrical power. A child can easily touch these with their small fingers or a conductive object.